Garden
by Reikaku Pyro
Summary: [Jounouchi x Mai] Jounouchi's planning something big, but he has the worst luck. Maybe this time won't be so bad? Jounouchi X Mai. Rated for slight language at the end. COMPLETED.


_Author's Notes: Another thing for 30romances. The theme was flowers so I just kinda went crazy with it. Yeah. Enjoy._

* * *

His plan was simple. Buy the flowers, knock on the door, tell her how he felt, and hope for the best. Simple, right?

Not for Jounouchi. He had this amazing luck. Whenever he wanted to do something nice; something sweet and romantic; something always got in the way.

He tried calling her and asking her out. His dad didn't pay the phone bill.

He tried getting a box of chocolates. It was July. That didn't work either.

He tried just talking to her, just saying that he loved her. There was a concert nearby. He barely heard the car that nearly ran him over.

Jounouchi Katsuya could not catch a break.

He had to give it one more shot though, hoping the fates would finally cut him some slack. After nearly 2 years, Jounouchi simply knew he would never do better than her, and he didn't want to bother looking. As a matter of fact, she was way out of his reach, and he knew that. She was perfect. Long, wavy blonde hair, soft ruby-grape eyes, and a body that belonged in a magazine. What magazine?

Moving on.

She was too good to be true. In a garden of mediocrity, she was the rose; bold and beautiful. The lone red bud that was too perfect to be picked. But he had to try. He had to let that rose know how much he cared.

That's what started the planning for his last attempt. This was it. If it didn't work out, Jou would take it as a sign that it wasn't too be, and that his gorgeous rose would continue to grow-without his touch.

The shop was quite lovely. The walls were covered with brightly colored flowers and vines. Table after table caught his eyes with exotic plants and bouquets, too amazing for him to begin to describe. Of course, Jounouchi wasn't much for fancy words or poetry. As much as that might have helped him now.

The girl at the counter smiled as she heard the doorbell. "Well, if it isn't Jounouchi Katsuya. What on earth are _you_ doing in a flower shop?" she asked, tucking a bit of brown hair behind her ear.

"Anzu?" Jou squeaked. "Since when do you work here?"

"Since they hired me," she grinned. "And you didn't answer my question!" Anzu replied in a sing-song voice. "What are you doing in a flower shop?"

Jounouchi was more than tempted to leave. And much as he liked Anzu (she was one of his best friends), he really didn't want to explain things to her. After all, there was a time when he thought he might've had a crush on her. Anzu was pretty; a lot prettier than most girls at Domino High. A perfect little water lily, dancing across the surface of the water. But it was just a mistake. Jou couldn't love anyone like he loved that rose. They were friends, and they were happy that way. After all, Yuugi loved that lily more than Jou ever could, and he'd never want to hurt his best friend like that. During the time Jou thought he liked Anzu, he couldn't even look Yuugi in the eye. What relief he felt when he discovered he was wrong!

"I…gotta get some flowers," he reluctantly admitted.

Anzu's mischievous grin morphed into a dry, unamused glare. "Well, I figured that, Jounouchi," she spat.

Jou rolled his amber eyes. "You know what I mean." Then he got an idea. "Hey, Anzu. Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot, buddy," she sighed, smiling once more.

"If you were a girl-"

"Jou, I am a girl."

"…Whatever. If some guy was to…you know. Buy you some flowers, give them to you and well…confess his undying love for you, what kind of flowers would you like to get?"

Anzu paused a moment. Jou got ready to turn tail and haul it, but a small smirk crossed her face. "Oh, are these for-"

"Just answer the question, Anzu," Jou interrupted. "This is completely hypothetical."

She gave a small, all-too-knowing nod. That smug attitude of hers was more than apparent. Luckily, she was his friend. She wouldn't make this too hard on him.

At least not right now.

"Well, if it were me…hmm," she muttered thoughtfully, glancing around the store. "I'd like some lilies." Big shocker.

Jounouchi looked over the lilies. They were nice, pretty. Just like Anzu. But just not enough. "I'm not sure…"

"Well, you can't go wrong with roses," Anzu pointed to a bunch of bright pink, red, and white roses. "Those always get the message across."

Jounouchi thought about that. It seemed fitting. "Ok."

"So should I wrap them up for you?" she smirked a bit.

"Anzu! Didn't I say it was a hypothetical situation? I'm not really buying flowers!" Jounouchi insisted, feigning shock.

"….Jounouchi."

"…Yeah, you better."

Carefully, Anzu pulled 6 red roses from the bunch, wrapping them in cellophane and tying them with a bright pink ribbon. "How bout a love note to go with these?" Anzu smirked.

"Shut up and tell me what I owe you, Anzu," Jounouchi snapped back.

"No need to get rude, Jou," Anzu frowned. After paying for the offending bouquet, Jou walked out into the non-fragrant, polluted city air. Lovely.

He began planning his speech. Mumbling to himself the words he wanted to say turned the heads of more than a few passersby. Jou paid them no mind. He had the roses. He needed the words.

A cheerful voice broke his concentration. "Onii-chan!"

Jou spun around to face his little sister, Kawai Shizuka. She was currently visiting Domino City with their mother. Soon she would leave again.

Jounouchi beamed. "Shizuka-chan!" he said brightly, wrapping her in a hug. He would always see Shizuka as the bright little daisy of his life; the light that always kept him going.

After the hug, Shizuka eyed the flowers in Jou's hand. "What are those roses for?" she asked, tilting her head.

…Yeah. Jou had actually forgotten he had those. "Um…" he stammered, a slight blush across his face. "Nothing?"

Shizuka giggled a bit, nodding. "If you say so, onii-chan," she said in the same tone Anzu had before. The brunette had rubbed of on his sweet little sister. Damn. "I have to be going. Mom just wanted me to get some lunch," Shizuka smiled. "See you later!" And with that, the bright little daisy hurried off.

Jounouchi sighed. Maybe now he could complete his task. Before he knew it he was at her door, gathering the courage to knock. He still had no idea what he was going to say or do. But hey. He could always improv.

…This wasn't going to go well.

Finally, he knocked. Not loudly at first, but once his first knock went unnoticed, he tried again. The door slid open, and he saw his rose before him. A smile crossed her face.

"What the heck are you doing here, Jounouchi?" Mai asked, leaning against her doorframe. She quirked her head around to see the flowers he had in his hand. "And what are _those_ for?"

Jou gulped. "Well, I just wanted to say hi," he stuttered, his cheeks on fire. "And I…got these…for you," Jounouchi held the flowers out for her. "…I wanted to tell you something." No more thought. Just SAY it.

Mai eyed the flowers, and looked sadly up at Jou. "…They're beautiful…but…I can't take them," she pushed them back to Jounouchi, sighing.

Jou blinked. This didn't make sense. Would she reject him before he even told her? "Why not?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.

She shrugged. "I'm allergic to roses, Jounouchi. I can't have them in my house or I'll have to go to the hospital."

Jounouchi froze. Of course. There was his dumb luck again. He wanted to do something romantic-buy flowers. But even something as simple as that wouldn't go off without a hitch. He sighed and dropped the flowers, ready to walk away. What was the point now? Fate had made its point PAINFULLY clear to Jou. His plan blew up in his face. His rose, his beautiful rose, was allergic. How poetic.

A gentle hand grabbed his shoulder right before he reached the stairs. He turned and Mai was there, semi-smiling. "But what did you want to tell me?" she asked. It was more than obvious she knew, though. Did Jou just…have a SIGN on his back or something?

Jou shook his head. "Nothing. Just…"

Mai shot him a stern glare. "Jounouchi Katsuya, do you think I'm stupid? You show up at my door with red roses, your face redder than the damn flowers, and you have something to tell me. Now you say it, or I am never speaking to you again."

Oh. Low blow.

"…I…um…well-" he stammered. Yeah. This was harder than he thought.

"Are you gonna tell me you love me or do I have to smack you?" she said dully.

Jounouchi blinked. "Well, kinda defeats the purpose since you obviously already know," he said dryly.

She smirked. "Oh but I just wanna HEAR it," Mai said mischievously.

Jou grinned slightly. That seductive smirk; the bright smile and how she always knew what he was thinking. That's why he loved her.

"I love you, Mai."

"Now was that so hard?" she quirked an eyebrow, holding his hand.

"Yes. Yes it was."

"Shut up," she smiled, then looked at the fallen roses. "And that was a sweet gesture, Jou, but I really would've preferred water lilies."

_…You've gotta be shitting me._


End file.
